Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Châteauneuf-sur-Cher, located in the Cher department in the Centre-Val region of Loire, finds its origins in the 11th century as a fortress controlling the Cher valley. Until the 16th century, it belonged to the lords of Culan, a powerful feudate lineage in Berry. The eldest branch died with Aénor/Eléonore de Culan (†1420), then the estate moved to the younger branch, including Louis de Culan (1360–1444), Admiral of France, inherited it in 1420. After his death without descendants, the property returned to his nephew Charles I of Culan, Grand Master of the Arbalders. The Culans kept Châteauneuf until 1564, despite local tensions: Bertrand de Culan was assassinated in 1529 by the inhabitants, exceeding his trials. His son François de Culan, married to a noble compromise in a criminal case, finally sold the estate in 1564.

In 1564, Claude II of La Aubespine, secretary of state of Henri II, acquired Barony. The castle, burned in 1569 by Protestants during the Wars of Religion, was rebuilt in Renaissance style by his son William of L-Aubespine, minister of Henry III and Henry IV. The interior facades, decorated with sculptures attributed to Germain Pilon, reflect this fascist. In 1680, the estate was seized and awarded to Colbert, before being sold in 1715 to the family of Pontchartrain, then in 1739 to the Marquis Paul-François de Galluccio de L Confiscated as a national property in 1793, it was bought by the financier Claude Caroillon des Tillières.

In the 19th century, the castle became part of the family of Maillé by the marriage of Joan of Osmond with Duke Jacquelin of Maillé (1845). Their descendant, Duke Gilles de Maillé, welcomed in 1944 the surrender of German general Botho Elster, marking a key episode of the Liberation. Sold in 2001 to a developer, Yves Collaone, the castle is divided into condominiums, then abandoned in 2006 after unfinished works and looting. Since 2015, Claude and Mireille Charrier have bought it back by lot to restore it. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1926, its protection was extended in 2021 to the entire estate, including park, vegetable garden and outbuildings.

The architecture combines medieval remains (eastern court, dungeon) with a Renaissance reconstruction. The west facade, taluted and 30 meters high, dominates the ice, while the inner courtyard, square, is lined with three houses with ordered facades. The entrance gate, dated from 1581, is flanked by twin towers with peppers. The interiors, although partially destroyed, retained gilded woodwork and sculptures attributed to Germain Pilon's workshop. The castle thus illustrates the transformation of a medieval fortress into an aristocratic residence, before its contemporary decline.

External links